This project won three regional awards and one national award: Chrysalis awards for best kitchen $40,000-75,000 and best addition under $100,000, and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) Contractor of the Year (CotY) for best bath under $30,000.
Some people say "You can never go home." Well, "go home" is exactly what the owners of this lovely 1950's Georgian did. The husband had been raised in this house from the age of two. He and his family bought it from a relative and proceeded to invest in much needed renovations.
No updates had been made to the original kitchen, so it is not surprising that it is the room in which work began. The owners asked Cabinetry & Construction, Inc., to recommend a design that would make it more useful, enjoyable, and fashionable.
We sought to accomplish four important things:
Improve the functionality of the space,
Upgrade and modernize the appearance and finishes,
Work with a modest budget and
Stay mindful that these changes were to a family homestead with deep personal meaning and, therefore, more than just construction.
Functionality
Before the project began, the family could not go directly from the family room into the kitchen. The only path was through a very formal dining room. We opened up the space to improve the flow. The kitchen used to be a very small, dark, dead-end space off the dining room. We not only broke through the end wall, we added a modest, but important, 140 square foot addition that enabled the traffic to move directly into the family room, and from there to the dining room, creating a 360-degree flow.
In addition to improving access, the owners report that this new layout makes the kitchen feel far larger than it measures.
This new traffic pattern also provided much needed natural light. A room once described as cave-like is now bathed in abundant sunlight from dawn until dusk, making it a warm and welcoming place.
Finishes
Nine important changes were made to the finishes in the room:
1. We designed, built, and installed custom painted cabinets, responding to the homeowners' desire to have a place to display a lovely collection of china and other items, many of them family pieces.
2. We completely replaced the floors, using a high quality oak to match the floors in the rest of the home. We finished the new floors in a warm, medium tone in a satin finish, designed to be easy to care for and maintain.
3. Handsome, honed Pietra Cardoza soapstone countertops anchor the room and provide the focal point. We worked with the homeowners to select the slabs used in this job. After hours of searching, they selected two particular slabs that offered an interesting and dramatic vein that serves as a conversation piece. This zebra-stripped vein continues up into the backsplash on the wall, drawing the eye through the room.
4. We had marble hand cut to resemble subway tiles. The marble provides a more luxurious feel than ceramic and complements the granite beautifully.
5. We custom made an arch for the doorway to the "bump out" addition to add interest and reflect other arches found in the home.
6. The walls were painted a pleasing shade of yellow that works well with the gray of the countertops and the paint on the cabinets.
7. The window over the sink was old and failing. The new window was installed using mouldings that match the rest of the house.
8. New, top-of-the-line, stainless appliances were selected and installed.
9. An oversize backsplash of the soapstone was fashioned to go behind the sink. This creates the effect of an old-fashioned kitchen sink, but allowed the wife to choose another sink more to her liking. An articulating wall hung faucet hangs over the sink and works particularly well with retro knobs on the sink.
Budget
The homeowners met with a number of contractors. All of the other bids involved extending the home into the backyard, enlarging the footprint and encroaching on a lovely garden. We were the only contractor who recommended changes that could be done using the existing footprint. In addition to bring cost within budget, the implemented plan preserved yard space. The owners often remarked that they thought the plan was remarkably creative and sensible. As they worked with the team on the kitchen, trust grew and the homeowners became more comfortable with the cost. Ultimately, they felt that they could invest in several other relatively small projects in the foyer, family room, and master bedroom that they would not have been able to tackle for years with the other contractors' approaches.
The homeowners are thrilled with the results. The wife delights in her new kitchen and uses it to entertain with ease. The husband who grew up in the house, however, probably had the best compliment for the project; he is sure that the previous lady of the house, his mother, would have loved it.